Jon Harned

Jon Harned is an experienced local government consultant who draws on decades of experience to support and advise agencies on workforce optimization and service delivery. With an academic background in experimental psychology, Jon applies his expertise in data analysis and census interpretation to evaluate organizational performance, employment trends, and staffing needs. He frequently employs SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis to assess operational effectiveness.

Jon’s contributions are often behind the scenes—gathering data, conducting research, and developing actionable recommendations based on evidence and strategic insight. Over the past 35 years, Jon worked with both private and public sector employers, including professional and managerial positions in psychiatric treatment facilities, adolescent residential care, child protective services, human resources, benefit administration, and, most recently, fiscal and operational oversight for a large public agency.

Before affiliating with MRG, Jon retired as the Administrative & Fiscal Operations Manager for Placer County. He served as the Benefit Manager overseeing an annual budget of $52 million for employee and retiree benefits. He led a team of administrative, professional, and management staff, ensuring accurate and timely HR/benefits transactions for more than 3,000 employees. His work ensured compliance with labor agreements and legal codes, while also providing strategic HR support to multiple departments and elected officials. His efforts included workforce planning, recruitment, budget workshops, and departmental restructuring. Jon’s collaborative and solution-oriented approach has supported a wide range of personnel functions, including classification and compensation, recruitment and selection, fiscal reporting, performance management, and employee relations. He has helped departments design effective organizational structures and staffing models and has implemented policies and procedures aligned with state and federal laws. He also provided training on medical leave policies, harassment, discrimination, and retaliation.

With over 15 years of experience in Health and Human Services, Jon supervised Placer County’s 24-hour emergency response team, addressing child and adult protective services and mental health crises for a population of over 300,000 residents. He managed the Children’s Emergency Shelter for 5 years, providing safe housing for youth removed from unsafe environments. He also led the implementation of the Children’s System of Care Team Decision Making (TDM) model to support family reunification.

Jon holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of California, Irvine. He earned his MBA from the University of Phoenix and was a Senior Certified HR Professional credential from the International Public Management Association for Human Resources (IPMA-HR). He also completed the Human Resources Academy Certificate Program at California State University, Sacramento.